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Tyler Z., Appliance Doc

Category: Appliance

Satisfied Customers: 64922

Experience: 9+ years being an appliance technician with factory training.

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Good afternoon all. I am experiencing the following problem

Resolved Question:

Good afternoon all. I am experiencing the following problem with my Kenmore Washing Machine Model 110-24942301 which I believe is related to the safety switch activated by the lid opening and closing. Here are the symptoms. At times, the machine operates perfectly working on all the dial settings. If I interrupt a cycle by opening the lid, the load will stop as designed but when I close the lid the cycle may or may not start again. It seems if I open and close the lid several times the load will eventually start. I can here the click of the switch but that doesn't necessarily mean I am getting continuity through the switch every time. That's about all I can tell you for now. Since appliance repair is not my expertise there may be other issues only you folks would know to ask about. If you think the switch is the probably cause would you please send instructions on how to change that switch. I do HVAC install and repair so have all the tools and testing equipment most likely necessary to do the repair. Thanks for your help. Dave

Hello, and thank you for using this service. I'll be helping you with your problem today.

So this is a fairly common problem on this unit. You either have a bad lid switch, or your metal bar attached to the back left lid hinge may have bent down over time so it hits the switch but doesn't actually push hard enough to make the switch have continuity through it. I would try bending that metal bar up a bit so that it hits the switch better. If you still have problems, then I'd replace the lid switch. Don't bend the bar too far or it can push on the switch and break the mounts.

Please remember to rate my service before you leave. If you have any other questions, please ask me – I’ll be happy to respond. You can continue asking follow-up questions until you have all the information you need even after rating my service. Thank you!

Hi Tyler. I think you may have helped me before. I'm pretty sure you may have hit the nail right on the head and it would have been something I would never have thought about. When I went to my friends house to look at the problem the machine would not work with lid down. So I thought the lid might hinge like a dryer top and put my screwdriver between lid and base and began to gently pry up. It didn't seem like it wanted to pop up so I stopped prying and closed the lid. Bingo. The washer started right up. Maybe I moved the bar just enough to activate switch again. How do you actually gain access to that metal bar? I just want to take a look at it.

So you actually need to remove the entire outer shell of the washer in order to gain access to that metal bard. Below is a video that shows you how to remove the control panel (yours is the last version they show you how to remove) as well as take the outer shell off so that you can replace it.

Hey Tyler. Thought this might be of some interest to you. The link to U-Tube was perfect. Got to the switch with no problem and could see one of the 3 male poles was burned on the switch. That was not the end of it. The 3 pin female connector had a corresponding burn in it as well. So I clipped that connector off and took it to the parts store. Guess what? They do not just sell that connector by itself. You have to buy the $80 wiring harness and completely rewire. But I fixed them. I drilled out the offending female connection and went to Radio Shack and purchased another single connection piece. I attached a wire to it and pushed it back in to the original burned connector. I spliced the 3 wires back together and connected the female and male connectors together. Cost? $4 Plus a little labor.

Awesome, I'm glad you got it all taken care of one way or another. You are correct that that connection piece does require you to replace the entire wire harness. There just hasn't been a better design on any brand when one of the connections short out. You can certainly splice the wires, but then unclipping them isn't so easy the next time you do service. I usually give the customer the option on what they'd like to do and believe it or not, some opt for the entire wire harness.

After my repairs the connector works just like the original. You can plug and unplug it as many times as you want. I just replaced the burned pin in the connector I cut off and simply reconnected the snipped wires with wire nuts.

Me too. Hey. I have a new question for you. I typed it all out but for some reason I do not see it going to you. Did you receive it? I want to make sure you get credit for a new question not related to the safety switch.

I'll give it another shot. Should be easy. My daughter has a Kenmore 90 Model# XXXXX dryer which scorched a load of laundry. I took a look at it today and found the 30+ feet of dryer vent was almost completely full of lint. Of course I took down the entire line and cleaned it out.

I also checked the timer and it appears to be working in all positions. And by working I mean it is turning as you would expect while dryer is operational.

I also checked the dial which controls the heat modes. In each of the heat modes I hear the gas valve opening and closing as the unit calls for heat.

Everything seems to be working perfectly now but one thing still troubles me. I do a lot of HVAC servicing and most furnaces I work on have a heat sensor to prevent such overheating of the combustion chamber/heat exchanger. Does this model of dryer have any such sensor? I would appreciate your thoughts on this issue. Hope you are having a great day. Dave

OK perfect. so there is an operating thermostat, a thermal fuse, and a high limit thermostat. But that being said, the high limit thermostat and thermal fuse only trip if the problem gets really rediculous. It sounds like the vent is definitely the problem if you found that it was clogged, but you may want to take the dryer apart and clean the vent as well. The problem is that if you opn the door and look at the back wall, you'll see a heater vent that looks scorched. This part will get very hot when you have a clogged vent even if everything is working on the dryer itself, and that can scorch your clothing.

I removed vent from back of dryer and cleaned all the way to where the vent exited. I also reached in to the dryer vent exit at back of dryer and all was clear to that point. Then I ran the dryer without the vent line being attached and I had what I would consider full flow of air coming out the back of the dryer. In addition, I removed the lint trap and cleaned any lint from the exhaust holes which lead from the drum and thru the filter. I do not think there is any more lint from lint trap to exit point on back of dryer due to the air flow I am feeling. Does this make sense to you?

OK I understand I think. But it sounds like it should be working out. Are you saying that it's still getting too hot? If so, then you need to remove the lower front panel, unplug the dryer, and disconnect the 2 wires going to the heating element. Test continuity through one of the heating element terminals to the case of the heating element. You should have no continuity, but if you do have continuity, then your element is grounded and would need to be replaced. Other than that, you'd just want to replace your cycling thermostat which is mounted to the top of the blower wheel behind the lint filter housing. The part number for the cycling thermostat is(NNN) NNN-NNNN

No. Not at all. I think everything is working perfectly now. I was just a little confused about the lint issue. But if you think I have done everything I can possibly do to make sure I am lint free from lint trap to exit point of house then I am happy. Guess I should have mentioned this is a gas dryer. Ooops. Sorry. That's what happens when you are pushing 60. Don't know how I forgot to tell you that. But the gas valve is cycling on and off so I know that is operational. I believe the problem is solved but if you can think of anything else, just fire away.

Bah, you did mention that you could hear the gas valve opening and closing so I had just forgotten and I apologize about that. But as far as the vent getting clogged, that just happens on longer vents. Longer vents should be cleared every year or so because the lint filters don't remove all the lint, just the majority of it. Either way, it sounds like you've cleared the vent and appears to be working properly so I think you just had a clogged vent.

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